Fastening device for bubble cap assemblies



p 22, 1953 J. P. DUNN FASTENING DEVICE FOR BUBBLE CAP ASSEMBLIES Filed Jan. 4, 1952 FIG.2

F'IG.3

FIG.5

P. DUNN ATTORNEYS R O T N w s we M A J Patented Sept. 22, 1953 "FASTENING DEVICE FORBUBBLELGAP ASSEMBLIES James-P. :Dunn, Springfield, -Mass., assignor to. 'Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company, West Springfield, Mass, a corporation-,of lvlas- .Sachusetts Application January 4, 1952, Serial N o. 261L898 (Cl.v 261-114) 2 Claims. -1

' This invention: relates ato. ancimproved' fastening device for holding the parts of a bubble-cap assembly together and to. a floor plate of a bubble tray of afractionating tower or the like.

Theinvention has for an object an improved form of wedging devicefor coaction with the top-wall of the bubble capand the upper end of the hold down member of a strong back to hold the cap-in place on the floor plate of the bubble tray.

More particularly, the invention provides a fastening device of this character, wherein the two opposed surfaces of the wedgeare formed on separate members which are interconnected together at one end: onlygthereby enabling adjustment of the-slope-ofith'e wedge by bending one of the two :members andalsoenabling a certain amount of spring' action between the two surfaces of the wedge that tends :tc'retain the members in position.

The invention alsofhas foran object the provision of a wedging device, whichincludes one member of cylindrical form, capable of coaction with a 'drilledthole-inthehold down member, in place oftheusual rectangular slot necessary for a wedge of ordinary form, the construction being especiallylsuitable:where the hold down members have considerable thickness, such that slots cannot be: readily andinexpensivelyformed as by punching.

The inventiomwillbe disclose-d with reference to the illustrativewembodiment ofyit in-the accompanying drawings. inrwhich Fig. 1 isa'top plan-viewof :aibubble cap assembly held together by the fastening device of this invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 .arezisectional elevational views taken on the ,lines.;2\-:+2 and; 3-93, respectively, of

Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 ,is azfragmentaryysectional 'viewtaken similarly to Fig." 3jshowing a. modification of the fastening device; and

Fig. 5 is a viewatakensimilarly.to,;Fig:-:2{showing the applicationpf theginvention. to a different form of bubble cap.

Referring to these drawings; a portion ,of a floor plate of a'bubble-trayjisshown-at land such plate (Fig.2) has a circular opening therethroughinwhich a chimney 2 .or riser is ,engaged. The chimney; has ..an.outturneid base flange 3, which abuts the lower face of plate I, when the chimney is thrust upwardly through the tray opening as far as possible. The chimney preferably tightly fits the tray opening so as to be frictionally retained in position without manual assistancaduring the assembly of the other parts of the bubble cap assembly. A cross bar it, orso-called strong back, diametrically spans the lower portionof the chimney 2 and has centrallyfixed thereto a hold down member in the form of an'unthreaded bolt 5, which extends upwardly through the chimney and above the upper end of the same. This cross bar is notched at its upper and outer corners, forming shoulders 6, which engage the base flange 3 at two diametrically opposite Points, and an upper portion 'Lwhich is located between the note-hes and frictionally fits "the chimney so that the strong back and its upstanding hold down memher 5 maybe retained in position without manual assistance during the-assembly of the bell cap 8. The'latter has a central hole in its top wall to receive the upper end of member 5. The lower end of the cylindrical portion of cap 8 rests upon the upper face of plate I and the parts are held together by thewedging. device of this invention which acts'to pull member'5 upwardly and press cap 3 downwardly in a manner to be later de-' scribed in detail. The cylindrical portion of the cap encompasses the chimney 2 in spaced coaxial relation and has the usual slots 9 to permit the outflow of the gases. The gases rise through the chimney, pass down in the space between the cap and chimney, outthrough slots 9 and bubble up through liquid, which is maintained on the tray at a predetermined level above the upper ends ofslots 9.

The bubble capassembly, as thus far described,

is of well known'form. The details are not essential to the present invention and they may be varied in many waysas desired, because the invention is primarily concerned with a special form of wedgingdeviceacting on the top of the cap and the upper end -of a hold down bolt to force them apart.

This wedging device is characterized in that the two effective wedging surfaces of the device areLprov-ided on the outer and non-adjacent surfaces of twoseparatemembers, which are connected-at one end to-a suitable support and project-"cantilever"fashion, one above the other 'from'the support. Conveniently, one such memany suitable way. However, a simple and desirable way is that wherein the upper member is a cylindrical pin and is engaged in a, hole which is drilled through the hold down member 5 at an acute angle to the plane of the top Wall of the cap 8 and the other member is fiat and rests on the top wall of the cap and. has a notch, such as I3 (Fig. 1), in one end to form a fork with arms I4 which straddle the hold down member. The pin I may be supported from the angle iron leg II in any suitable way. In Fig. 3 the pin extends through a hole drilled in leg II and its outer end is welded to the leg, as indicated at I5. In Fig. 4, a corresponding pin I0 has one end slidably mounted in a hole in the leg II.

In use, the forward end of the pin I0 is inserted in the hole in member and then driven toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 3 or 4. This will cause the pin II) to raise member 5 and the leg I2 of the angle iron with its legs I4 to press downwardly on cap 8, forcing the lower end thereof against the upper face of plate I while the upward pull on member 5 will force the shoulders 5 of the strong back 4 against the base flange 3 of the chimney, thereby forcing such flange against the lower face of plate I. In the Fig. 3 form, the pin and angle ironmay be moved together by a hammer blow on leg I.I while in the Fig. 4 form, these two parts may be moved the one independently of the other.

The invention may also be used with bubble cap assemblies, such as shown in Fig. 5, wherein the chimney I6 has a base flange H, which rests on top of plate I, and the cap I8 has a series of vanes I9, fixed thereto and resting on the upper end of the chimney. Here, the cap I8 is supported from the upper face of plate I but through the intermediary of the chimney and not directly as before. Each vane is notched to provide a shoulder 25 to rest on the upper end of the chimney and a shoulder 2| to abut the outer periphery of the chimney, whereby the cap and chimney are held in proper spaced coaxial relation. The lower end of cap I8 does not touch plate I and has a circular series of annularly spaced notches 22, serving the same purpose as the slots 9 of Figs. 1 to 3. The strong back 4, constructed as before, has its upper portion 1 extending through the hole in plate I and into the lower end of the chimney I6, whereby to align the latter with the hole. The shoulders B then engage the lower face of plate I. The hold down member 5 extends upwardly as before, through the chimney l5 and cap I8 and the wedging device is applied, as before, to force the member 5 upwardly and cap I8 downwardly, whereby to clamp the cap against the chimney and the latter against plate I and the shoulders 6 of the strong back against the lower face of plate I.

The particular form of strong back, herein shown, is constructed from two strips 23, suitably secured together in face to face relation, as by two spot welds, indicated at 24. The central portion of each strip 23 is bent into semi-cylindrical form as at 25 and these two portions encircle the shank of bolt 5. Below these portions 25 the strips are slotted to receive the head 26 of the bolt and prevent the same from turning.

The invention provides a wedging device of simple and inexpensive form. It has been common to use a wedge which is of rectangular cross section and relatively high and narrow, engaging it in an elongated slot in a flat and relatively thin hold down member, which extends through a slot in the bubble cap. In such cases, the slot in the hold down member can be formed by punching out the thin sheet metal. However, where the hold down member is cylindrical, as herein shown, or otherwise of substantial thickness, it is relatively expensive to form the slot and the present invention offers a much cheaper, simpler and better solution of the problem. The angle iron may be struck up from sheet metal and the pin out from heavy wire stock and welded in place. The member 5 simply needs to have a hole drilled therein. The pin can be readily bent with a hammer blow to vary its inclination, where necessary for proper engagement of the parts. The construction, in effect, has the two effective surfaces of the wedge in spaced relation and supported at one end only so that there is a certain amount of spring action between them that enables the wedging device to be held in place without the bending of the ends of the wedge as is necessary when the wedge is of the ordinary form, as above described. The device is easily installed and as easily removed, simply with a hammer blow on one end or the other of the wedging pin.

The invention thu provides an improved form of wedging device for fastening the parts of a bubble cap assembly together and to a floor plate of a bubble tray of a fractionating tower.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bubble cap assembly, having a floor plate with an opening therethrough, a bell cap supported from the upper face of said plate, a strong back bridging said opening and having its ends engaged beneath said plate, and a hold down member fixed at one end to the strong back and extending upwardly through the top Wall of said bell cap; a wedging device engaging the top wall of the cap and a portion of said hold down member at a location above said cap for exerting a downward force on the cap and an upward force on said member, said device comprising a support resting on top of the cap and upstanding therefrom and two members connected at one end to the support and projecting one above the other in cantilever fashion from the support, the outer and nonadjacent surfaces of said members converging and constituting the effective wedging surfaces of the device, said hold down member at a location above the top wall of the cap having a cylindrical hole therethrough, the axis of which is inclined to the plane of said wall, the upper member of said wedging device consisting of a cylindrical pin engaged in said hole.

2. A bubble cap assembly, as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper member of the wedging device is slidably mounted inthe support.

JAMES P. DUNN.

References Cited" in' the file of this patent UNITED-STATES, PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 2,338,928 Glitsch Jan. 11, 1944 2,351,855 Harris a June 20, 1944 2,391,502 OBrien Dec. 25, 1945 2,445,083 Reed July 13, 1948 2,612,360 Haynes et al Sept. 30, 1952 

